British mature gay

Whether channel surfing or browsing streaming platforms, it is difficult to find a television programme airing in Britain that does not portray or involve male lover or queer people in some shape or build. From long running soaps such as Coronation Road to boundary pushing series like Sex Education, homosexual and queer characters and relationships are ubiquitous on British television. Moreover, many actors, directors, producers, and presenters are openly male lover or queer. This is a remarkable feat considering legal and social proscriptions against homosexuality existed until at least the twenty-first century.

This pride month, it is worth reflecting on this history and the many achievements and challenges along the way. This article traces how same-sex attracted people emerged on the small screen in non-fiction television programmes, from tentative pleas for tolerance in the s and s to bold challenges of gender and sexual norms in the s and s. It focuses primarily on gay men and lesbians as they were the central, and often sole, focus of television programmes on homo